Danse de la Lune
by C.B. Magique
Summary: [Princess Story side-story] Kairi wants to go to a ball and show off her elegant dance moves, so she and Zexion crash Belle's engagement party. (It's not as funny as it sounds).


**And it happens again. More stand-alone fluff that takes place between Princess Story and the sequel, although I should probably stop doing these now because the sequel has already got its first few chapters up. So if you haven't noticed it yet and are wondering where the sequel to Princess Story is, it's called Keyblade Princess and it's live right now.**

 **But before that happens, this story happens. So enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Danse de la Lune**

* * *

A large, full moon shining over the Destiny Islands set a beautiful scene on the deck outside Kairi's house. The moon washed the boards in a pale glow but she still brought the fairy lights down from her room for extra light. The house behind her stood empty with her father having been gone since the beginning of the week for a business conference of all of the islands' mayors and not due back for a couple of nights. He had left her in the care of Selphie's family but she had evaded them tonight under the pretext of a sleepover with Riku and Sora. Neither of them had her company tonight. She turned to look at the Nobody sitting beside her and giggled.

He looked at her, ruining her perfect view of his profile. "Is something funny?"

"Hm... Not really," she replied. "It's just so romantic in that romance novel kind of way: a clandestine meeting on a moonlit night while the guardians are away. It's cute."

Zexion nodded. "I hope to one day find out what Ienzo would feel about it."

She put a hand over his and smiled at him. "One day soon." She looked up at the sky and sighed. "Wow, the moon looks so big tonight."

Zexion followed her gaze. "It's a supermoon, an astronomical phenomenon when the moon is at its closest position to the earth."

"A supermoon, hm?" Kairi smiled. "Is that the scientific term?"

"More or less."

"Do other worlds see supermoons too?"

"Any world with an orbiting satellite will experience supermoons. It's a natural symptom of orbital bodies."

"Aw, I was hoping it was special just for the islands. All of the other worlds have something that seems really magical or special about them. But here it's just the islands; it's a little boring."

"There's something unique to every world but when the mind becomes accustomed to something the heart stops finding the beauty in it."

It fell silent after that. Kairi didn't reply for several seconds, prompting Zexion to turn to her. Kairi stared at him, a little wide-eyed. Then she sighed and flopped onto her back. "Maybe that's true. Sometimes it's hardest to see what's right in front of you. I guess I couldn't say what's special about these islands because I see them every day, so it's normal. I never used to imagine that I would be much more than an ordinary girl living here but lately I've been starting to see past all of that. Hey, why don't we start by making this night a little more special?"

"Start?"

"Start trying to see the special things about this place," Kairi explained, standing up. She grabbed Zexion by the arm and tugged. "It's a special night already, what with the supermoon and all. So why not try making something more?"

"Are you suggesting we go exploring now?" He asked looking around him.

"Well, we could. Or just make the atmosphere a little bit different, you know? Hm..." She folded her arms to think.

"If atmosphere is what you're trying to change then even something as simple as sounds and music could enhance the environment in the way I suspect you're striving for."

"Yeah! Music would be great." Kairi was about to suggest going inside to use the music player but Zexion had already summoned his Lexicon into his lap. "Don't tell me that thing plays music too. What can't it do?"

Zexion shrugged. He opened the book and turned to the desired page. Something like a holographic sphere rose out of the crease and hovered over it, spinning around with magic ribbon and grains in and around it. They jumped and undulated in time with the waltz that started to play. Zexion put it down next to him and stood up, turning to Kairi. She grinned and held her arms out for him to step between them and take up a dance position. They paused for a few counts and then began their waltz, moving smoothly around and around the deck. No step was out of place.

Zexion nodded in approval. "You've been practising."

"Waltzing isn't the only thing I've been practising," she replied, raising her eyebrows cheekily. "Are you ready for this?"

Zexion looked at her expectantly, then in surprise when she suddenly twirled. She kept one hand in his as she demonstrated the pirouettes she had practised, stepping from one to the next seamlessly and sweeping one foot off the floor at the completion of every turn. She lifted her leg higher and higher until on her final turn she had extended it as high as it would go and posed there.

Kairi held it for as long as she could until her muscles started to ache and her standing leg began to wobble. She dropped her pose with a similar grace that she had acted with during her dance and turned to Zexion, who had kept her supported by the hand the entire time. He regarded her impassively at first but stretched a smile onto his face.

"You _have_ been practising," he said. "I'd say I was impressed. Though perhaps your talents are now wasted on a world like this."

"Hey! I happen to like this world," Kairi pouted. "And you're the one who said earlier that all worlds are special."

"I still mean that," Zexion said. "However, this style of dance isn't practised here, is it?"

Kairi looked down at her feet and frowned, unwilling to voice how right he was.

"I was thinking that maybe we should go to a place that will appreciate your effort."

"You mean go to another world again?" Kairi asked excitedly. "One where there's a big ball that we can dance at?"

"I could certainly find one like that."

"Then let's go already!"

Kairi grabbed his wrist and tugged insistently as Zexion opened a dark corridor. He grasped her hand and led her into it. Then it closed behind them. Zexion closed his eyes, even though he didn't need to in the pitch darkness while he smelled ahead of them. His powers reached out deep into the cosmos, looking for worlds of a suitable type. He smelled gold and perfume and champagne and steered them towards it.

* * *

The room they exited to wasn't the grand affair Kairi expected. She looked around the dark, small room sceptically as the portal dissolved. There was some furniture – just a sofa and an ottoman and a cabinet – but the room was bare of embellishments.

"You know, this isn't generally what I imagine when I picture a ball."

"Of course I'm not going to take you into the ball proper just yet," Zexion replied. "We're a bit underdressed as it stands."

The Lexicon returned to his hands and flipped open of its own accord. A glittery orb jumped out and began to circle and twist around the two of them, showering them with sparkles. Kairi marvelled at herself as her clothes began to change, morphing into a new outfit. Her mini dress and sneakers transformed into a wide ball gown with gathers and a pair of silk slippers with ribbon crossing her ankles. Soft silk caressed her arms as if the white opera gloves were sliding, rather than appearing by magic and her hair had been taken up into an elegant style. She looked over to Zexion, who had changed into a blue jacket with pink embellishments as if he specifically intended to match her. White trousers fit his legs tightly, showing off the strong thighs he had to develop while fighting Heartless for The Organisation, making Kairi blush, and his boots were a formal black and polished to shine.

"I'm starting to wonder if there really is anything in the worlds that that book doesn't prepare you for," Kairi remarked.

"We'll see if such a time ever arises," Zexion said with a shrug. He bowed to her and extended an arm for her to loop hers through. "In the meantime, princess, would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the dance?"

Kairi giggled playfully behind her fingers and obliged him, thinking how ironic it was that even without a heart humour and mirth didn't escape him. At the door they paused and Zexion indicated for her to stay behind him. He grasped the doorknob and turned it carefully so as not to squeak, pushing the door open just a crack to peer out. The hall outside was lit up and empty of anyone coming and going. At the front doors a pair of guards took each door by the handle and pulled it closed behind them before they took up their guard outside. Once the coast was clear, Zexion opened the door wider and ushered Kairi out, closing it as carefully as he'd opened it. They linked arms formally again and Zexion led her at a hurried pace to the stairs at the end of the foyer.

Up those stairs was another pair of huge doors that were wide open to a bright room but there were two men blocking entry. One was tall and skinny in contrast to the stout man beside him who was neurotically checking a list written on a long piece of parchment. As Kairi and Zexion approached they could hear him muttering:

"It looks like all of the guests have arrived. Mhm, I'll just double-check the guest list."

His companion rolled his eyes. "Cogsworth, you are not St Nicholas. It is well past the starting time, if there is anybody yet to arrive they are unfashionably late."

"Lumière! I'm afraid we must take this seriously! Madame Belle would undoubtedly be very upset if we were to turn away our guests, even if they are unacceptably tardy. She's so kind, you know."

"Ah, oui, I know as well as you but the show must go on. In that case, if there are any final guests, they shall speak now or forever hold their peace."

"Excuse us," Zexion piped up as he and Kairi came over the final step. "We humbly apologise for being so late. Are guests still admitted?"

The servants stared at them in a kind of shock. Lumière turned to Cogsworth with an easy smirk. "Well, there you have it, mon amie. The final guests, right on cue." He stepped forward to greet Kairi and Zexion with a deep bow, embellishing it with a great flourish of his hand. "Welcome, esteemed guests! And not a moment too late, the formal proceedings are about to begin."

"Now hold on! This all seems just a tad convenient, don't you think?" Cogsworth interrupted, putting an arm between Lumière and the 'guests'. "If you would be so inclined, would you please present your invitation?"

"Why certainly," Zexion answered with an amicable smile. He unlinked their arms to reach into his jacket's inner pocket, only to pull out nothing at all. Kairi watched with a perplexed eyebrow raise as Zexion presented thin air to the servants as if it was a piece of paper. "Does this satisfy you?"

Even more bewilderingly, Cogsworth and Lumière both perused the air under Zexion's fingers as if they were actually reading something. When they were done, Cogsworth gave a perfunctory nod and stepped back, giving them enough space for passage into the ballroom.

"Yes, it all looks proper," he muttered. "Please enter this way. Lumière will announce you."

Zexion offered his arm for Kairi to take again. She did so almost automatically, staring at him in awe as he led her forward behind Lumière while Cogsworth closed the doors behind them.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Just a little magic to make them see what they needed to see," Zexion replied with a sly smirk.

They paused when Lumière stopped just inside the ballroom. Kairi marvelled at it the extremely tall room lit with soft, golden candlelight from intricate candelabra and a large chandelier. The floor was so polished that despite the marbled textures and latticed dancefloor it reflected the room like a mirror. Guests in colourful ball gowns with enormous skirts or slimming jackets and polished boots milled around the golden marble columns wreathed in strings of roses while a small orchestra gathered around a grand piano played ambient music to fill the atmosphere. Stars in the night sky sparkled through the floor to ceiling windows, putting an extra touch of magic into this already glamourous room.

Lumière cleared his throat to make a loud announcement over the idle chatter and music: "Kairi, Princesse de Coeur and her fiancé, Zexion VI."

Kairi blushed. "Fiancé?!" she hissed at Zexion.

He shrugged. "It was one of the least scandalous options to explain why we're alone in each other's company."

The ballroom suddenly fell to a hush – even the orchestra faltered a little – as everyone turned and craned their necks to get a view of the latecomers. Kairi shuffled beside Zexion nervously, looking at the overly powdered and painted faces of the other guests, wincing at the jealous glares of many of the women in the room. She looked down at the edge of her dress and saw that unlike the other women Zexion hadn't caked her face in make-up, keeping it to a modern, minimal style that she was more used to.

"Keep your head up and look confident," Zexion muttered to her, tugging gently on her arm to steer her into the room. "Many of these people are like vultures who'll pick apart the weak."

Kairi gulped. That certainly did nothing to assuage her fears. The people around them spoke in whispers and murmurs but Kairi and Zexion had no chance to mingle before the ringing of a small bell captured the room's attention. In front of the glass doors leading to the balcony stood Cogsworth, furiously ringing a silver bell until the entire room fell silent. On either side of him stood a tall, broad-chested man with long auburn hair neatly tied back and a petit, extremely beautiful brunette girl in a yellow ball gown. Cogsworth put his bell away in a pocket where it would hopefully make no more noise and spread his arms to the guests with pleased expression on his face.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," he said loud enough to be heard across the whole room, "and welcome to the castle. It is the first ball hosted at this castle in over a decade and we are delighted that you have all arrived to enjoy it. I hope this evening has lived up to your expectations thus far for tonight is a very special occasion. Each of you has been invited for your relationship to the master of this castle and to the lovely Madame Belle to bear witness to this very important announcement: Prince Adam and Madame Belle are officially engaged to be married."

A wave of surprised gasps echoed over the ballroom, followed quickly by enthusiastic applause that was muffled by gloves. Kairi also applauded excitedly, even though she was sure she was missing some of the context as to why this was so important. Belle and Adam exchanged loving glances.

"A rather momentous occasion," Cogsworth continued, although his bottom lip had started to wobble. "This union has brought great fortune on this house. Why, ever since Madame Belle first graced our doors with her presence we all hoped it would be the meeting that restore the former glory of this castle." He sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, how embarrassing! Getting so emotional at such an important time like this. Well, without further ado, I declare that Prince Adam and his fiancée shall open the night's proceedings with the first dance. Maestro!"

Cogsworth clapped demandingly. The conductor turned back to his orchestra and raised his hands to begin the opening sequence to a waltz. Belle patted Cogsworth's shoulder sympathetically and gave him a small hug as he took a handkerchief out of his breast pocket to wipe his eyes and blow his nose. Then she turned to her prince and placed her hand in his outstretched one to walk with him into the middle of the ballroom, where the guests had made a lot of space for them to dance to their hearts' content. They took up a waltz position, waiting a couple of beats to get in time with the music before they stepped in unison.

Kairi clasped her hands in front of her chest at the sight of the swish of Belle's dress and the flutter of the prince's coattails as they twirled around the floor in perfect synchrony. Not a step looked out of place as the prince twirled his fiancée and then they melded back together as if they'd never been apart like a romantic story unfolding before the guests' eyes. Kairi's eyes sparkled at the sight. She could have watched it forever but it was over in minutes. Time felt like it had gone by too quickly.

Belle and Adam bowed to each other at the conclusion of their dance. They stepped aside to take their seats at two white thrones that had been prepared at the side of the room for them to sit and watch the rest of the dances. The conductor tapped his music stand and turned a page, readying his orchestra to begin a new piece. As the opening notes tinkled some braver couples stepped out to take positions on the floor. Zexion nudged Kairi's arm, prompting her to look at him.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Er, sure," she said. "Why not?"

They found a space to themselves among the other pairs and took position. She watched the other couples, not quite sure what they were waiting for, so she let Zexion take the lead. He started them off at almost exactly the same time as the others, to Kairi's amazement. They were all waltzing but they were also doing the same kinds of steps, making her wonder how they knew what to do with no prior instructions. She'd learned to follow her partner's lead in Disney Castle and did her best not to miss a step.

Suddenly the music changed as the conductor sought to segue seamlessly into a different piece. All of the dancing pairs on the floor suddenly stopped and bowed to each other, similarly to Belle and Adam's formal conclusion. Even Zexion stopped dancing to bow but Kairi stood still in front of him. He looked up in confusion.

"The music is changing," Zexion told her, as if she didn't know. "This is generally a cue for dance partners to swap with others."

"But that didn't last very long," Kairi pouted. "We just did the same dance as everybody else—that wasn't much fun."

"Unfortunately, that's how these kinds of balls tend to work. It is conservative but it will keep this crowd pleased as well as keeping us under the radar."

"I thought we were coming here to show off a little."

"Making a scene in an unfamiliar world is inadvisable," Zexion warned. "We came here to make better use of your new skills and that does not involve posturing ostentatiously."

"It does now," Kairi argued, despite not being sure what he meant.

As the old dance cohort moved away they left a large space that Kairi dragged Zexion into the middle of before new dancers could arrive. She pulled him into position, smiling up at him in a self-satisfactory manner. He stared down at her, glancing both ways at the confused and offended expressions on the guests' faces but then his gaze fell on the prince and Belle. Prince Adam appeared just as offended as some of his guests and almost got up to rebuke but a gentle hand from Belle forced him to stay seated. She watched the pair, intently and curiously with an encouraging smile on her lips. Kairi saw it too and it was enough for her. She took her first step, kicking Zexion in the shin slightly to get him to move. He sighed. Now that they had the whole room's attention there wasn't much option left but to go with whatever Kairi's intention was.

The piece started off slow but Kairi didn't see that as an excuse to start off small. She led them side to side and around, swaying the hem of her dress elegantly. It brushed the floor with quiet _swishes_ as they painted an invisible oval on the floor, defining the space that was theirs and theirs alone for now. Emboldened by the desire to prove something, Kairi's movements were almost too ambitious for Zexion to keep up with. He couldn't predict what she was going to do next, often rushing to support her in a dip or a small leap and trying to stay beside her active steps.

The tempo and volume of the music began to crescendo and Kairi spun out of Zexion's grasp so quickly and suddenly that he couldn't catch up. He simply paused in position, hoping it didn't look dorky as Kairi twirled away from him with her arms poised delicately and her feet gliding past each other surefootedly. When the music reached a peak she halted at the other side of the floor and turned to Zexion with a hand and a foot outstretched to indicate her sure return to him. She flashed him a coquettish look as she gestured for him to approach her. They closed the distance between each other simultaneously, both making it look like it was simply part of a routine, but when they met Kairi didn't just dance right into Zexion's arms. She grabbed one hand and spun widely out to the side, pointing her outer foot as she did. Zexion pulled himself up as he recognised the step and for the first time in this entire dance he knew exactly what to do.

Kairi demonstrated her pirouettes to the room, showing with each turn how high she could kick her leg just as she'd shown Zexion earlier that night. She stopped to pose with her leg almost as high as her shoulders but this time Zexion didn't let her stop there. She gasped in shock as he picked her up by the waist and dipped her. He had her balanced on his thigh so that all of her limbs were poised off the floor in a dramatic finishing move. Zexion could feel how tense she'd suddenly gone meaning his attempt to get his payback for the improvised show had gone just as he had planned.

The orchestra wound up the piece and all of a sudden there was a chorus of applause. Zexion put Kairi back on her feet and turned to face the prince and his fiancée, nudging her to do the same. With his hand in hers he used a subtle pull to tell her to curtsey to them. As they straightened up Kairi caught the eyes of the engaged pair. Adam now looked very pleased next to Belle who was positively enamoured by the show. They both stood up during their ovation and this time Kairi didn't need prompting to bow to them again. Her heart fluttered with excitement as she finally consented to have Zexion lead her away. The music changed to a jollier tune and the guests – invigorated by what they had just seen – took to the dancefloor with more energy than before.

"Did you see that?" Kairi giggled to Zexion in a low voice. "Everyone loved it! I knew it would be a great idea."

Zexion sighed tiredly. "It has gone over well," he conceded.

Kairi frowned guiltily. "Sorry. I guess we're no longer under the radar."

"Maybe, maybe not. In bowing to the monarch I was hoping to imply that this was a set up to entertain them. Hopefully they'll take their acclamation to whoever they assume to have organised it, rather than to us directly. In the meantime, let's take our leave."

"But we just got here!" Kairi whined. "And the party's still going. Plus, everyone looks like they're having way more fun than they were before."

Zexion looked over the crowd of people. The dancefloor had filled up with a large number of inspired dancers, almost too many for it to accommodate. "That does appear to be true but I stand by my argument that being the centre of attention in a foreign and unfamiliar world is poor judgement. Besides, we did what we came here to do: your dancing skills have been observed and appreciated."

"I don't want to go back home just yet. Nothing's happening there."

"I disagree," Zexion said, pointing to the huge windows of the ballroom. "In case you hadn't noticed, there's no moon in this world tonight."

Kairi stared at the sky and then chuckled. "Alright, you got me. The supermoon was pretty cool."

"Indeed," Zexion nodded. "So we shouldn't squander the opportunity to witness it."

The two of them crept gradually to the back of the ballroom, trying to dodge or quickly appease the questions of the other guests they passed. The crowd moved around them as the dancers changed with each song. When everyone had their back turned, Zexion opened a sneaky portal in the wall and he and Kairi fell out of the world without a trace.


End file.
